Continuing professional development - Oriental express

Nursery World is running its third Professional Study Tour on Early Years Education in China in April this year. Here, some of the happy travellers from the September visit talk about their memories and impressions of the country and its early years practice.

The 2015 trip is scheduled to run from 28 March to 11 April.

For more information, visit www.mastertravel.co.uk.

LASTING IMPRESSIONS

David and Anna Wright, owners of Paint Pots Nurseries, Southampton

'How do you begin to understand such a vast and complex country as China, with its ancient culture? Having examined our tour programme, it was evident that we were going to give it a good go, with a packed schedule of professional and cultural visits and experiences.

'We visited the historic sites - we climbed the Great Wall, toured the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, and came face to face with the Terracotta Warriors. We visited nurseries, an orphanage with 700 children, a traditional hospital and a barefoot doctor's surgery. We ate in local restaurants. We sampled some wonderful regional cuisine and mastered chopsticks. We travelled 5,000km by boat, train, plane and bike.

'We built up our own image of the size and history of the country, its customs, and social structure. Meeting colleagues from another country and sharing their passion is always a privilege. Seeing their settings and talking to them puts their challenges and opportunities into context and helps us appreciate what we share in common - our vision for the best early years care and education for all children. It helps us understand our different circumstances.

'Two weeks is a short time to form an opinion on a whole nation, but I can't think of a better way to do so. So many images and memories will stay with us - the beautiful scenery, the smiling children, the friendly and passionate staff and of course the new friendships that formed in our own group. It was the trip of a lifetime.'

MEMORABLE MOMENTS - ADE LABINJO, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ST MICHAEL'S NURSERIES, LONDON

The Great Wall

'It was really good to finally see the Great Wall of China. It has a very imposing presence and weaves around the whole area like a dragon appearing and disappearing.

'The climbing was a totally different experience. The steps are uneven and the gradient is the steepest thing I have ever seen. I psyched myself up to climb the first round of steps, thinking there would be some level ground to walk the rest. Oh no! There are steps everywhere; you finish one and within a few yards another gruesome climb awaits you.

'I gave up after the first lot, as the scenery was the same and it was too steep a climb for an over-60-year-old! I left the rest to the young folks. It is impossible to go round the whole wall - it is more than 4,000 miles long. It is a must on a visit to China.'

Xi'an Municipal Orphanage

'The Xi'an Municipal Orphanage was my favourite professional visit because abandoned children are very close to my heart. 'There several schemes being run within this orphanage:

• Babies that stay in the home all the time.
• Some children were sent to two Government maintained nurseries and a flat was bought nearby for two members of staff to look after them during the night and the weekend. This, the manager said, made it an expensive project.
• Homestead fostering. A block of flats was built for 'mothers' to live in and look after up to three or four children. The children come to the orphanage during the day, then the 'mothers' pick them up at 5pm to take them home. This is an attempt to give the children a family type of life. This is a fantastic government initiative.

Comment

'It was both an educational trip and a holiday, with five-star treatment, full board and one of the best tour guides I have ever met. It was also an eye-opener to early years in China, which has a lot of business potential. I would highly recommend this trip. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.'

GETTING TO KNOW YOU - ZOE HILTON-WEBB, NURSERY ASSISTANT, PRIMARY SCHOOL, NORTH LONDON

'It's really hard to think what was the best bit of China. As it was, I enjoyed everything about the trip, and there would be nothing that I would change. One of the many things that I enjoyed was meeting new people and making new friends.

'I also really enjoyed the river cruise to Yangshuo because of the beautiful never-ending mountain landscapes. You really felt that you were in China, as you would never see such spectacular mountains anywhere else. These are the mountains of the Willow pattern plates come to life.'

Song and dance

'My favourite nursery was the public kindergarten in Shanghai, because when we arrived we were greeted by teachers and children. This immediately gave us a sense of community in the nursery. We each were told to take two children by the hand (I had four or more!). The children led us to their classroom and then sat down and waited to be told what to do by their teacher.

'The teacher in charge of the kindergarten talked about the setting, and explained the structure of the day and the ages of the children attending.

'The children then performed a dance for us, which was brilliant. We then performed a dance that we had prepared and sang Wind the Bobbin Up to the children. The children seemed very excited at our performance and said that they really enjoyed themselves.

'We were then asked to dance in groups with the children while listening to music. We all managed to keep up with the them, though our lack of practice may have shown.'

Sharing ideas

'When I got back to work, I was asked to do a presentation about my trip for my colleagues. This prompted a lot of discussion within my team. They were very interested in how differently nurseries in the UK are run compared to those in China.

'They were interested in the daily morning exercise routine for children: the higher child-adult ratios in some settings and the highly structured day that did not allow free-flow and allocated specific times for each child to spend in each area of the nursery.

'They were quite shocked at the fact that we did not see disabled children in the mainstream nurseries and the fact that the facilities and space available at the orphanage for disabled children were so much less than at the mainstream nurseries.

'The aspect of Chinese practice that I would like to bring to my setting, and feel would be a great opportunity for the children, would be an exercise session every day, first thing in the morning.

'Overall, my time in China was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend the trip to anyone.'

VISITS: OUR ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS

Shanghai 'Downtown' Shanghai, Shanghai Museum, French Concession, public kindergarten

Suzhou Private nursery, silk factory, Master of the Nets Garden, Grand Canal cruise

Beijing Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Xi Yuan Hospital of Chinese Medicine, the Great Wall of China, zoo pandas, hutongs (in traditional quarter of Old Beijing), 'baby gym'

Xi'an Chinese medicine market, the Terracotta Warriors, the Xi'an orphanage School, the City Walls.

Guilin/Yangshuo River cruise, barefoot doctor's practice, public kindergarten

• For more information on the activities, visit www.mastertravel.co.uk

Early years and pre-school education in Denmark and Norway

Combine professional visits to early year settings and Forest Schools with trips to a toboggan run, a spa and a world-famous castle on Master Travel's February tour to Denmark and Norway.

Organised in association with Nursery World, the six-day tour aims to give early years practitioners a unique insight into policy and practice in these countries. The programme of private visits to nurseries, pre-schools and education centres will enable you to meet early years professionals and children and to learn first hand about Norway and Denmark's renowned education systems.

Included in the itinerary are visits to Denmark's Ravneholm Forest Nursery School, Oslo's Kulur Waldermars Kindergarten, with its three sensory rooms, and the Oslo International School.

HOLIDAY TIME

However, the tour is also very much a holiday, immersing you in Scandinavia's rich cultural heritage, great cities and breath-taking scenery. As well as visiting some iconic landmarks, including Frederiksborg Castle, you'll be able to experience the thrill of Oslo's most popular toboggan run - the Korketrekkeren, enjoy a four-hour food tour in Copenhagen sampling Danish specialities, and a relaxing session in a spa.

• The tour is from 15-20 February. For more information, call 0207 501 6741 or visit www.mastertravel.co.uk.